Read – “The Freak Revolution Manifesto” (via Susie Madrak)
There’s a lot in the piece that resonates, but the parts that cheer you on to opt-out of various things, well they stand in opposition to connection, to “coming off the mountaintop” as the paper puts it. So it is a piece that is at odds with itself.
Still, its worth a good read.
Some supporting science – BioEd Online: Conformists may kill civilizations
And from Bruce Eckel comes some related thoughts after reading Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do With My Life?”:
I’m reading Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do With My Life?” which is brilliant on many levels. For one thing, it’s the anti-self-help book; it’s just stories from talking to people, and by no means is everyone successful.
And it’s dense, by which I mean not fluffy but packed with insight. He spent years researching and developing this book, and his own struggle is woven into it. Indeed, it’s not about formulas and answers, but about the struggle itself.
One observation set me back. There are lots of people who wanted to do one thing but then got “practical” and did something else “first.” The idea was that they’d be successful and sock away money doing the practical thing, and after that they could go back to the thing they loved. Bronson was sure that, among the hundreds of people that he interviewed, someone would actually have been successful with this strategy. It sounds so reasonable, after all.
But he encountered exactly zero people who pulled it off. Everyone who tried got sucked into the “practical” career and were never able to extract themselves from it. Too comfortable, too many expectations from friends and family, too easy just to keep doing what you’re doing.
I’d counter that we stand for connection without standing for indiscriminate connection. (more)
Thanks for your feedback, Karl, and for sharing the link!
Hello Pace and thank you for commenting.
I agree that we need to take the time to discern who to connect with or not. That indiscriminate connection is no real connection at all.
But I’ve had a growing fear that the ‘Daily Me’ – enabled by technology and encouraged via marketing (see Facebook, MySpace, etc, and niche or personalized marketing) is already a growing presence in our lives. It’s accelerating. And that not all of the effects are desirable.
It’s human nature to want to surround ourselves with others who are open to us and who we can learn from .
Now, however, there is way, way, way less to encourage us to reach across our divides and make a connection – our geographical locations mean less and less and our communities of interest are so easy to satisfy.
It would be more revolutionary to tell a liberal or conservative that their labels are self-constricting and that they should be themselves and go forth into so called ‘enemy territory’ to make friends.
To connect.
I realize this opinion is fringe.
In fact, friends think I’m kinda a freak about it (not to steal the term but its applicable I think). That I’m thinking about something that isn’t necessary to think about.
But that’s okay 🙂
Danah Boyd: PdF2009 – The Not-So-Hidden Politics of Class Online
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGL09x76MGQ
I loved the manifesto. But I’d reconsider what you’re opting out of.
Karl,
I’m confused, because I think I’m agreeing with you, but you think you’re disagreeing with me. You got the impression that the manifesto advises against connecting with those in so-called “enemy territory”?
I love danah boyd’s work.
If I’m misreading – I apologize if so. I did get that impression.
I will re-read it tonight. I was planning to do so in any case because even though I felt there were parts I disagreed with, overall, its an uplifting piece.
Any new interpretations on re-reading that part, Karl? I’m curious to discover whether we’re actually disagreeing or just miscommunicating.
p.s. It doesn’t email me when you reply, so if you’d be so kind as to ping me via email (pace@freakrevolution.com) I’ll write back more quickly.